Wavewalk® 500 Kayaks

Wavewalk® Kayaks

The information that features on this page is mainly about our classic 500 kayak series. We also listed here the R model from the popular 700 series, as a full tandem fishing kayak.
Kayaks from the 500 series can be easily and effectively motorized, but for high performance motorizing, namely high speed, bigger loads, etc., please visit our website’s W700 portable boat section ». The 700 Series is bigger and more stable than the 500 Series. We also offer the new Series 4 of portable skiffs that work well as paddle craft »

“The World’s Best Fishing Kayak” – Wavewalk® 500 Background

All Wavewalk kayaks and boats are based our patented invention allowing the design of small, lightweight watercraft that offer more stability, comfort and control than other kayak and small boats do.
We came out with the 500 series in May of 2009, and it became an instant success. Until August 2015 when we introduced the 700 series, the W500 was the world’s most stable and most comfortable kayak, and it featured the biggest storage space, so its users dubbed it “The world’s best fishing kayak”. Some of them have contributed their reviews of the Wavewalk 500 » In November 2013, we made the W500’s saddle bracket a standard feature in all models from this series, in order to help protect them from excessive load and mechanical stress. Since the advent of the bigger, heavier and more stable 700 series, the classic 500 is popular mainly as a solo fishing kayak, and as a touring kayak for lightweight tandem crews. Many W500 owners motorize it with electric trolling motors and small, lightweight outboard gas motors.

Wavewalk 500 color options

Full Price List of All Wavewalk Products »
Our kayak prices include free shipping to continental US addresses (48 states). We ship each kayak in a custom cardboard box. All our shipments are insured, and include call before delivery.

HOW TO ORDER A WAVEWALK® KAYAK?

Simply, send us an email telling us which model, color and accessories you’re ordering, and we’ll process your order immediately, without waiting for your check to arrive and clear. By the time we receive your check, your order will be either ready for shipping or close to being completed. In your order please include your full name, the address where you want us to ship the boat, and a telephone number for the carriers to call to set the appointment for delivery.
Please make your check payable to Wavewalk, Inc.Our address: Wavewalk, Inc., 115 Terrace Avenue, Riverside, RI 02915Call us 774 315-6009Our boat prices include free shipping to continental US addresses (48 states)

Wavewalk® 500 OVERVIEW

Wavewalk 500 without the standard flotation modules. The bungee around the cockpit and the flush mount rod holders are no longer offered as an option.

Flush mount rod holders (No longer offered. Requires DIY)

Saddle: 6 ft long, 14″ high, 12″ wide

Cockpit: 6 ft long, 29″ wide, 17″ deep

Prep for cockpit cover (No longer offered. Requires DIY)

Four piece carry handle (x4)

Molded-in saddle reinforcement element (x13)

Hull tip for storage (x4)

Hull: 11’4″ long, 14″ deep, 8″ wide (x2)

3″ high spray deflector

3D VIRTUAL TOUR ANIMATION

This animation video shows the W500 kayak in the basic configuration, without flotation.
The video shows the kayak’s twin-hull (‘catamaran’) structure, the reinforced saddle (longitudinal seat) that the passengers ride like the saddle of a personal watercraft (a.k.a. Jet Ski) or all-terrain-vehicle (ATV), with a leg in each hull. Also shown are the depth of the hulls, and the vast storage space they offer in the spacious cockpit and hull tips, and the spray deflector around the cockpit.

What is a Wavewalk® Kayak?

“W” cross section of a W500 Kayak

Wavewalk is a registered trademark and the name given to a patented invention recognized as a new type of watercraft. Since it is lightweight and narrow enough for its passengers to propel with kayak paddles, the US Coast Guard (USCG) classifies the W as a kayak. The W features two full twin hulls joined by a central structure dubbed Saddle, which is similar to the saddle of personal watercraft (PWC), also known as jet-skis. Unlike common catamarans, the W’s cockpit offers passengers to sit or stand with a leg in each hull.

Unlike common kayaks, the W does not force its users to sit in the non-ergonomic L-position, with their legs stretched in front of them. Instead, the W offers to ride its saddle in a naturally comfortable, stable and powerful Riding posture shown here (1 & 2). The Riding posture is back-pain-free.

Wavewalk passengers can also stand up anytime they want, lay down on the saddle and stretch their back, or sit in a more relaxed posture, as shown here (3 & 4)

Top view of Wavewalk 500 with paddler seated in the Riding posture

The W500 kayak’s unique combination of improved stability, ergonomics and hydrodynamics offers its users unrivaled performance when they paddle with either kayak or canoe paddles, as well as when they motorize it with electric motors or with powerful outboard gas engines.

Internal Volume: 117 gallons (15.7 cubic feet / 444 liters). This doesn’t mean all this space is available for storage, and it certainly doesn’t mean the kayak can carry the equivalent load – See Storage and Maximal Recommended Load (MRL)

Structure:

Patented, deep twin hulls attached by a long and high saddle. US utility patent number 6871608.
The W kayak is symmetrical both left-right and front-rear: Bow and stern are interchangeable.
The entire internal space of the hulls is empty and protected, and serves for storing camping and fishing gear. Passengers in the cockpit can conveniently access this 66 gallon (250 liters) dry storage space at all times.
This new type of watercraft is a catamaran in a hydrodynamic sense, since it features two full-featured hulls.
The passengers’ feet reach all the way down to the bottom of the hulls, which also serve to store gear on board, and therefore, the use of the term ‘pontoons’ (floats) to describe this kayak’s hulls is technically incorrect.

Materials:

Country of Origin:

Our kayaks, paddles and accessories are all 100% Made in USA

Storage:

How much fishing and camping gear can fit inside a Wavewalk 500?

Our Wavewalk® kayaks offer several times more storage space than any other kayak. The amount of storage available is equal to the kayak’s internal volume, minus the space occupied by each passenger. The storage space includes the kayak’s two hulls and its cockpit. The W500’s total internal volume is 117 gallons (15.7 cubic feet / 444 liters), of which 8.8 cubic ft (66 gallons / 250 liters) can be used for internal, dry and always accessible storage space, inside the cockpit, two hulls, and 4 hull tips.

The passengers in the W500 can easily access their gear anytime, and the gear stays dry under normal conditions. The cockpit can be partially or entirely covered by a cockpit cover. Read more about the W500 internal storage space »

* Note: The information featuring on this page is mostly about the 500 series. The bigger 700 series offers more storage space. For full 700 Series technical specs and other information, please visit our W700 page »

Wavewalk® 500 Maximal Recommended Load (MRL):

360 lbs (163 kg) in total, including passengers and all the gear they carry, stored inside the hulls or attached to the kayak.
Like any other vehicle, an overloaded kayak becomes slower, less stable, and less maneuverable.

Wavewalk® 500 Weight Limitations for Passengers:

Solo – The combined weight of passenger and gear should not exceed the 360 lbs MRL.
A person who weighs more than 240 lb (109 kg) should outfit their W500 with a saddle bracket.
Tandem – The combined weight of both passengers and their gear should not exceed the 360 lbs MRL.
A person weighing over 200 lbs (91 kg) should outfit their kayak with a saddle bracket for tandem paddling or motorizing.

Since November of 2013, a W500 models come outfitted with a saddle bracket, standard.

Always operate your Wavewalk® kayak within the above load limitations – Even if your W kayak feels perfectly stable and comfortable. Failing to comply with our recommendations could damage it, and might even be hazardous. More info »

OPERATING YOUR Wavewalk® KAYAK

For your maiden voyage as a W kayaker, we recommend the Riding posture and not the Sitting posture.

Practice operating your W kayak on flat water before taking it in moving water.

Remember that your experience in paddling canoes or common kayaks is irrelevant to the W kayak, which offers a much broader performance envelope. Take your time learning how to operate your W kayak, so that you can benefit in full from what it has to offer you.

You can enter the W kayak’s cockpit from its rear, and exit it from the front – Keep your feet dry!

Paddling and motorizing your W kayak from the middle of its cockpit makes it both stabler and faster. You can easily move along your W kayak’s saddle and relocate fore and aft in the 6 ft long cockpit, but remember that normally you operate a W kayak from the middle of its cockpit, and not from its rear.

Surf launching and beaching: Operating your W kayak from the cockpit’s rear end makes its bow rise. This is an advantage when you launch your W kayak in the surf, or beach it anywhere.

You can make your W kayak go over obstacles sticking out of shallow water – See article and video »

Tracking in strong wind: You can operate your W kayak from a point that’s closer to cockpit’s rear, if adding weight to the stern helps you track under strong wind. Similarly, you can also move forward, in case relocating your weight towards the bow helps you track and steer under strong wind blowing from a different direction. You’d never need a rudder to help you track or steer your W kayak. For more information, see full article and video »

Tandem paddling is a more advanced application than solo paddling. Therefore, both passengers should first paddle a W kayak solo and get used to operating it, before they start practicing as a tandem crew.

Motorizing – Get used to paddling your W kayak before you motorize it. Driving a motorized W kayak is done from its middle, and not from the cockpit’s rear end. You’d need to outfit your motor with a long articulated (jointed) tiller extension.

* Note: The information featuring here is mainly about to the Wavewalk 500 kayaks. The new Wavewalk 700 portable boat series is bigger and more stable. For full 700 Series technical specs and other information, please visit our Portable Boats page »

OUR KAYAK PRICES INCLUDE FREE SHIPPING IN THE CONTINENTAL U.S. (48 STATES)

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT PADDLES

Common kayak paddles are neither long and rigid nor durable enough for W Kayakers: The W design requires using a longer paddle even in the seated (Riding) position, and when you use a long paddle you can achieve more both in tracking terms as well as in maneuvering, and you gain additional mobility » Paddling standing requires a paddle that’s both longer and more rigid than other kayak paddles. A ‘soft’ paddle wastes your energy and slows you down. Launching and beaching in difficult spots, and poling in shallow water require a paddle that’s longer, more rigid, and more durable than most paddles. When all above requirements are concerned, our composite paddles are unmatched, which is why we haven’t changed their design in over a decade. To learn more about our extra long, multi-purpose, extra-rigid, durable, composite paddles, please visit our website’s paddles section »

SHIPPING INFO

For all our kayaks:

We ship every Wavewalk® kayak in a custom cardboard box

No extra charge on accessories shipped with the kayak

Free shipping in the Contiguous US (48 States)

Free call before delivery service for shipments in the US and Canada

$70 bonded shipping charge for W500 shipments to addresses in Canada

$100 bonded shipping charge for W700 shipments to addresses in Canada

We ship worldwide by ocean freight to major ports and freight terminals

OUR KAYAK PRICES INCLUDE FREE SHIPPING IN THE CONTINENTAL U.S. (48 STATES)

What Makes The Wavewalk® 500 The World’s Top Performing Fishing Kayak, And The One That’s Best For You?

Some Important Facts That You Can Check:

It’s the world’s most stable kayak (after the W700), even stabler than kayaks equipped with outriggers.

It’s the most comfortable kayak that does not force you to sit with your legs stretched forward, and offers you to switch anytime between various positions, so you can avoid fatigue, leg pain, sore back and a wet butt.

It’s the easiest kayak to paddle, since it tracks better in strong wind, and requires no rudder, except when you’re using a large-size sailing rig.

It’s the only kayak offering true stand-up paddling and fishing in safety and confidence, with a 14.5″ high seat ready for you lose balance, so you don’t have to swim.